Page 219 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

200 Life Cycle Assessment of Wastewater Treatment

Hence, the burden on water reservoirs is increasing day by day because of
increased population and pollution. Surface water and ground water are contami-
nated to a large extent due to various anthropogenic activities (Manivasakam, 2005).
Different industries such as textiles, chemical, paper, food, and plastic consume
enormous amounts of water during various processing steps (Mittal et al., 2008,
2009a; Khamparia and Jaspal, 2016a, 2017a,b). Raw sewage and industrial wastes
are considered as point source discharges, which are generally treated before dump-
ing, thus avoiding contamination reaching water resources, while non-point sources
of pollution often include runoff from agricultural lands and synthetic wastes from
urban areas, which are difficult to eliminate by simple techniques (Todd and Mays,
2005). The versatile nature of water enables the effortless amalgamation of this
indispensable source with any organic or inorganic pollutant (Albadarin et al., 2017;
Daneshvar et al., 2017; Thakur et al., 2017). The wastewater discharged from both
point and non-point sources grievously perturbs the functioning of different life-
sustaining cycles. Hence, there is an urgent need to treat wastewater generated by
various industries by following a sustainable approach. Certain substances, such as
phosphorus, fluorine, chlorine, iron, nitrate, chromium, arsenic, and so on, can pro-
duce undesirable effects in the water bodies if present in excessive amounts. This
chapter addresses harmful effects due to the excessive presence of phosphorus and
discusses the available treatment technologies for its removal along with its recov-
ery and recycling. Additionally, in the era of sustainability, this chapter revolves
around the green and eco-friendly methods adopted for removal of phosphorus from
wastewater.

10.1.1 Toxic MaTerials in WaTer
Surface, ground, domestic, and commercial wastes often include a variety of pol-
lutants. Both inorganic and organic compounds are present in wastewater and have
inimical effects on humans, animals, and plants. Heavy metals, synthetic dyes, pig-
ments, pesticides, insecticides, and by-products from the textile, paper, printing,
leather, and pharmaceuticals industries are considered to be the most hazardous
substances present in the effluent (Bailey et al., 1999; Forgacs et al., 2004; Banat
et al., 1996; Wauchope, 1978; Dunier and Siwicki, 1993; Heberer, 2002; Mittal et al.,
2009b; Khamparia and Jaspal, 2016b). Substances and elements such as ammonia,
nitrogen, phosphorus, and so on are widely found in effluents from domestic sewage
and municipal wastes (Sharma, 2010; Cordell et al., 2009; Correll, 1998). Inorganic
anions such as nitrates, sulfates, phosphates, fluoride, chlorates, and cyanides pres-
ent in high concentrations induce toxicity in the receiving reservoirs (Kapoor and
Viraraghavan, 1997; Postgate, 1959; Carpenter et al., 1998; Bhatnagar et al., 2011;
Vanwijh and Hutchinson, 1995; Abel, 1996; Naushad et al., 2014). Organic com-
pounds in wastewater often include phenolic compounds, surfactants, polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers,
and humic substances, which have detrimental effects (Kobayashi and Rittman,
1982; Scott and Ollis, 1995). Wastewater generated from sewage, agricultural activi-
ties, and fertilizer industries is high in ammonium content. The increased dosage
of ammonium leads to eutrophication in water bodies with depletion of dissolved